Here we are today with a great piece for Little Dragon by Johannes Nyholm.

This video for little Dragons “Twice” is a pilot for the short movie “Dreams from the Woods” (“Drömmar från skogen”). The film is to be completed in spring, 2009. Here you could find the film, that won the Sound Award, Janela Internacional de Cinema, Brazil in 2009. In this film, and so in the videoclip, shadow puppets come to life.

We report Johannes Nyholm explanation about this film:
“The idea behind the film was to tell a story that was a mix between dream and reality. For the first time in my life, I guess, I wanted to create something that actually looked beautiful. The form should be so fragile that you get the sense that it could dissolve any second, like a dissipating cloud. I wanted to encompass a whole life in just a couple of minutes. Love, break up, death and grief. A melodrama without any irony.

It is not a typical film, but rather a filmed theatrical play, a shadow puppet theater. An important principle throughout the production was to do everything the old analogue way, not in postproduction with digital techniques. Every shot was rehearsed multiple times. Then shot, live, with numerable puppet players controlling the figures and elements. Sometimes we were 15 people controlling different small elements of the scene simultaneously; one controlling the little bird, another the girl, four people controlling the wind, yet six controlling the fires all over the image. Some shots were so difficult and complex that we had to reshoot up to 200 times.”

Little Dragon is an electronic band from Sweden, formed in 1996. They consist of singer Yukimi Nagano, drummer Erik Bodin, bassist Fredrik Källgren Wallin and keyboardist Håkan Wirenstrand.

We quote part of an interview made by the “virtual music magazine The Nightfly with Yukimi Nagano.
Here you could find the whole interview.

The Nightfly: Little Dragon’s music videos are highly creative. Does the band commission these very playful shorts from video artists/film makers that you like or do they usually approach the band?
Yukimi: It’s been both. We contacted Johannes Nyholm who made our “Twice” video and also Hideyuki Katsumata who made our video for “Fortune”.

The Nightfly: Who made the haunting shadow puppet music video for the track “Twice” and how do you personally interpret the story of the bird, the girl and the skeleton?
Yukimi: Johannes Nyholm. We were fans of his work and really happy about his interpretation. Even though we helped out a lot in making the video – moving the puppets, blowing wind, pulling down rain – we never really knew what he had in mind. I think we all have our own individual ideas about what the story means.

Some technical data suggested by the director:
Film print 35 mm
Process color
Ratio 1:1,78(preferably) or 1:1,85
Speed 24 fps
Reels 1
Length 246 meters, 807 feet
Audio Dolby SR, optical